Two Car Garage Size

by Richard
(Denver, CO)

QUESTION:

What is the ideal two car garage size? I want to be able to park my cars inside and still have room to work and store some stuff.


ANSWER:
As you know, "ideal" is truly a matter of opinion. That said, I DO have an opinion!

The short answer: The best two car garage size is 24' x 24' minimum.

The long answer: Regardless of how long your vehicles are, you want to have enough room in front of the cars to move. Better yet, you want to have room for a garage workbench, storage cabinets or shelves.

Take the Ford Explorer, for example. At about 16.5 feet long, you would only have 3.5 feet of space between the front bumper and the front wall of a 20 foot deep garage. A 24 foot deep garage gives you 7.5 feet to the front wall, leaving room for a 24" to 30" deep workbench and another 5 feet of walking or working space.

A 4 door F-150 is pushing 18 feet long. Do the math and there isn't much room up front unless your garage is 23 to 24 feet deep.

The ideal two car size also leaves room for at least 18 inch deep garage shelving on the side walls AND room between your cars to actually open the doors. Having 30 inches between and beside the cars is a good rule of thumb to keep your doors ding-free.

Ideal space beside and between your cars is 90 inches (30" x 3) plus 3 feet of shelving (18 inches deep on both walls) equals 10.5 feet. That leaves 13.5 feet of width for 2 cars or 81 inches each.

A 2012 Ford Fusion is 80.1 inches wide. In the luxury category, a Lexus LS460 is 73.8 inches wide. Measure your car and/or truck and you will get a pretty good idea.

Add some garage ceiling storage and you will not only get to park inside, you will have a well organized garage.

For more examples and a more in-depth discussion, visit the 2 car garage plan page.

Drive happy!
Pat